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Finally opened up the box! I have 2 UB kits stashed into one so I had to parse out everything. Both kits have all the requisite aftermarket, too. Iíll be utilizing the Eduard kit (the other is the Zhengdefu knock-off).

*Iíve only seen one reference of this bird carrying armament and it was 2 Alamos on the intake pylons. Itís a unique arrangement so Iíll only need some of the Brassin sets, but all the pylons will be used.

Lastly, I like to be organized with my stash for the most part. I tend to keep a lot of decals in my file cabinet for easy reference, etc. In some instances I do put decal sheets in the kit boxes. This is one of those times. Lo and behold I discovered not only did I already have the Linden Hills sheet that I was hunting for, but 2 other sets as well. Between the kit decals, the Begemot sets and the newly discovered sets, Iíll be, wellÖ.set.

Really been thinking about this build and I've narrowed down some choices:

1) This will be a heavily weathered bird (per this year's Scale Model Addict contest theme)
2) The weathering will be winterized
3) I'll be doing a full meal deal build, starting from Eduard's Limited kit
4) It'll be Blue 52 with some weathering borrowed from Blues 41 and 51.
5) I might build with a snowy base but only enter the model to keep it in the air category (unless the snowy base is permitted, no people or equipment.

Finally dug into the bits!!! First step was to wash all the resin to make sure the primer will stick so the parts were soaked overnight in a bowl of water with Comet then laid out to dry in the sun. There is a LOT of resin for this build. Like a LOT.

All the parts are really well detailed. The Quickboost flaperons do need rivet work done, something the kit parts actually have. I’m still going to go with the resin parts because the hinge edge has more detail.

Eduard included two really well detailed pilot helmets and they’re a nice touch. I think I’ll rest them on the seats.

The Aires exhaust nozzles are incredible. There are even raised rivets on the outer layer of feathers! Although comparing them to the walk around images, a couple more minor rivet lines need to be added.

One thing Eduard does NOT include in the box is a resin combing, rather they rely on a poorly shaped and detailed photo etch piece. I took a good look at the Wolfpack piece from the stash and compared it to the Aires piece from the single-seater pit and the latter won out.

Lastly, I found a reference of Blue 52 with a single Alamo C mounted on the intake pylon, so again Eduard’s Brassin saves the day. AMAZING detail…almost like it’s a mini kit itself…

Speaking of armament, the kit pylons are crap so not only will I be using the ones provided in the Brassin sets (I’m pulling from other Alamo and Archer sets) but I’ll have to mix and match PIECES of the kit pylons because Eduard doesn’t supply matching “pre-pylon” mounts. Regardless, I laid out all the pylon upgrades according to design along with the placement of the Alamos.

The Eduard cockpit parts and Aires nose wheel bay have these blocks on them that need to be cut off. Normally I wouldn’t worry about it but even with the barest of dry fitting it’s apparent space is needed.

Radome wise, the shape of the resin part is spot on but alignment with the kit parts is off. Some fix its will need to happen there for sure.

As a tool use note, I’ve been using the really thin photo etch saws to cut the resin off the pour stubs, but it’s a bit flimsy so I slid the saw into the blade handle with an old blade as support.

Lastly, I took a good look at all the main plastic parts and examined where new panel lines need to be scribed or old ones filled, where I need to make cuts to fit the resin parts and piled up all the parts that need rivets. I measured the distance on the kit rivets and while they may not be scale accurate, I figured I’d at least match as best I could with the new lines.

This is where the trusty RB Productions Rivet-R tool comes in handy, specifically the 1mm rivet wheel set (one for long lines, one for corners).

The last couple pics here are the awesome Master metal pitot and the AMUR photo etch grills.

It’s funny, I look back at this past week and think I really haven’t done much on this project, then I look at the pictures! Every little step makes a big difference and I might just be getting to the major building sooner than I realize!

First up, I started riveting! The horizontal and vertical stabilizers were first up and assembled. There were a few lines that needed to be scribed as well as small access panels.

The verticals were a little more complex so I made a new scribing template for the access panels.

The lower fins also don’t come with the larger rivet markings so I used Hasegawa’s .75mm rivet punch tool.

The ‘stabes are looking the part already.

Since the elevators are going to be drooped, the hinges need some extension work. It’s a little tricky trying to figure out curves and length by just dry fitting all the pieces, so an approximation took effect. Once the fins and fuselage pieces are assembled it should be easier to trim and fit the parts.

Not only are there new lines to be scribed, some need to be removed so I filled them with putty and began sanding smooth.

I also started scribing the new lines on the wings.

While I was at it I sanded down the ejector pin marks on the inside of the intakes.

So something funny also cropped up and it’s a bit of a hump. The wings are bent on both the top and bottom fuselage pieces. It’s probably my fault for packing the box so tight. I glued some steel rods into the bottom piece and it helped but there’s not enough room for them in the top section. I’ll have to work carefully with some heat from my desk lamp to reshape.

Lastly, Flankerman Ken over at ARC shared that the nose gear door inset shape is wrong, so I’ll be re-sculpting that.

I also trimmed all the blocks off the resin pieces….still a huge pile!!

That process included cutting apart the pieces I need from the kit pylons.

A few minor updates from the past couple weeks. It’s been a little slow on the modeling front because I’ve been working on installing some art for a big show (see here: http://www.cosmosis.squarespace.com). BUT I was able to find 10/15 minutes here and there. The easy stuff was getting the Alamos together. The detail is just stunning on these in this scale. I really hope Eduard steps up and releases some 1/72 Brassin sets like this.

The cockpit started getting some attention as well. I almost forgot to cut out the area to accommodate the Fairy Hobby canopy when I put the Aires combing in place! Oops. I also added the photo etch pieces to the fuselage side of the canopy system. And since the cockpit pieces are pretty easy to piece together, I went ahead and did that, too

The new wheels bays from Aires are really great in terms of detail, but they are a mess and a half to get into place. The front of the wheel well section is OK, but the main channels require a LOT of cut outs and alignment. I still need to fill some gaps and add some reinforcement pieces on the inside.

Another set of steps that easy to work on separately are the intakes. Once the rivets were complete I filled the seam with some CA, to be sanded later, and added in all the photo etch from both Eduard and AMUR. The AMUR vents/intakes, etc don’t quite fit over the Academy lines so I had to fill the plastic with Tamiya putty. They will be sanded flush so the vents stick out soon.

That’s all for now! Gotta focus on 2 commissions. This will be worked on during the in between/drying stages of the others :P

Every small amount of progress keeps adding up. This update shows that I added about half of the AMUR photo etch pieces so far. The front section of the cannon PE plate snapped off (and didnít fit quite right) but otherwise Iím OK with it. I also cut out a section of the canopy hinge and added the rear pilot instrument panel hood. Also dropped in the airbrake.

Wheel bay progress. These things are a big pain, especially the main wheel bays. The nose gear bay was a breeze howeverÖ

Primed the pit, detailed the flaperons, and started adding the spacer to the radome.

Lastly, finished detailing the Alamos and primed them. I used some tubing in the nozzles for a little extra detail. The black primer is great because none of the detail is lost.

Another week has gone by with many minor updates. Finished up the lower wings…and figured I disconnect them while I was working on the wheel bays. They should be easy enough to pop back in place once she goes together.

Also finished the riveting process…which wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. Tedious, but not bad.

Finished adding the wheelbays.

Worked on the canopy hinge by re-adding the PE plate to the new piece of styrene and puttied in place.

Lastly, added the spacers to the radome and added to the upper fuselage. There will be a touch of putty and sanding but the shapes match, which is more important.

OOOO whatcha goin do about that nose to fuselage step? Wouldn't want to be you right about now LOL... An idea may be to detach the nose, mate it to the top fuselage, do the same with the bottom then deal with the gap in the fuselage??? As it is now you have to sand down the nose which will alter the contour, or float in putty on the fuselage. Both of which (I) wouldn't want to try or do... Watching with interest

Jim

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Fear the Bones

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